Operation Queen

Operation Queen was an American attempt to penetrate the Siegfried Line through the Roer (Rur) valley in western Germany. The operation was carried out by two US armies in the autumn of 1944, and the Americans faced two German armies. The Allied Powers used heavy tactical bombings to prepare for the offensive, but the US 1st Army was bogged down at the battle of Huertgen Forest, while the US 9th Army made good progress in the Roer plains. The 9th Army had it relatively easy, losing 1,133 dead, 6,864 wounded, and 2,059 missing; however, the 1st Army suffered very high losses in the Hurtgenwald. The Germans prevented any further Allied advances by flooding the countryside after opening the Roer dams, and the Allies would not be able to form a bridgehead over the river until February 1945. The German advance in the Battle of the Bulge would force the Allies to retreat to fight off the attack, and Operation Queen was a German defensive victory.